248: Chapter 248 Taking you home, my word is law throughout the entire solar system!

Xishan Military Airport.

The hatch opened, and Su Che stepped onto the tarmac, turning back to instruct Kaila.

"You wait on the ship. It's hard to explain if a blue-skinned girl suddenly appears on the streets of the capital."

"Understood, Your Excellency Chief." Kaila stood at the hatch, hands folded in front of her.

Su Che left the airport, where a black Hongqi sedan with special license plates was already waiting.

The driver was from the Ministry of State Security. Seeing Su Che approach, he opened the door. "Chief Engineer Su, Jinghua University Physics Laboratory, forty minutes."

"Let's go."

The car pulled onto the Fourth Ring Road. Su Che leaned back in the seat and took out his phone.

He first sent an encrypted message to Qin Lan: Bring Gao Jian, arrive at the gate of the Jinghua University Physics Building within half an hour.

Then he dialed General General Shen Wangchuan's private line.

"General Shen, help me arrange a dinner with a few people tomorrow noon. I'll send you the list. If they are out of town, send a special plane to pick them up now."

"What's the occasion?"

"My treat."

General General Shen Wangchuan paused. "Alright, I'll arrange the location."

"Also, if The Elder is free, please pass on a message for me. I want to see him."

"I will convey it."

The call ended.

When the car stopped at the south gate of Jinghua University, Qin Lan and Gao Jian were already standing by the side of the road.

Qin Lan was still her usual self, while Gao Jian followed half a step behind. Seeing Su Che get out of the Hongqi, they hurried over.

"Chief Engineer Su." Qin Lan saluted.

"Get in, let's go in and pick them up together."

The car drove into the campus and stopped steadily in front of the physics laboratory building.

Su Che pushed the door open and went in; the fluorescent lights in the hallway made the floor shine.

Deep inside the laboratory building, a heavy metal door was tightly closed, with a "Classified Area" sign on it.

Su Che swiped his special access card, and the door opened.

Inside the laboratory, two figures were busy around a particle collision simulation device.

Lin Waner was wearing a white lab coat, her hair pinned up under a cap, holding a stack of data sheets.

Jiang Yingxue was at the other end adjusting equipment, her black ponytail swinging behind her.

Hearing the door open, both turned around.

Lin Waner froze for half a second, the data sheets in her hand almost slipping.

"Su Che?"

"Experiment stopped, come with me."

Lin Waner didn't move. "Stopped? This project cycle still has nearly a year, Professor Yang…"

"I'll handle Professor Yang, and I'll inform the school."

Su Che walked into the laboratory and took the stack of data sheets from her hand, placing them on the table.

"Your experiment won't be needed anymore."

Jiang Yingxue came around from behind the equipment and took off her gloves.

"Su Che, you have to give a reason."

"A reason?" Su Che pulled up a chair and sat down, hands resting on his knees.

"A month ago, the Tayake Civilization sentry ship arrived. I led the Nantianmen Fleet to fight a battle; it was a pyrrhic victory."

Lin Waner's fingers twisted together.

"Later, I contacted a Level 3 Civilization, the Kairos Civilization. They gave me a ten-kilometer-long interstellar mothership called Genesis, which is now parked on the far side of the moon."

The laboratory was so quiet you could hear the hum of the equipment's cooling fans.

"One hundred top scientists from the Kairos Civilization, plus massive amounts of rare materials, all belong to me now."

"The Tayake Civilization fleet sent eleven warships to take revenge. I borrowed the name of the Kairos Civilization, didn't fire a single shot, and made them unload their cargo and get lost."

Jiang Yingxue's mouth moved, but she was speechless.

"Earth now has the technological foundation of a Level 3 Civilization. The physics verification you are doing in this lab with Earth equipment is preschool level for the Kairos Civilization. Some validation experiments can be skipped directly; there's no need to do them."

Lin Waner took off her lab cap, her hair falling onto her shoulders.

She looked at Su Che for a long time.

The dilapidated classroom at Su Family Village Primary School, twenty-three children, an old computer that couldn't even open a webpage.

In the Expert Apartment of the Military Science Commission, the bowl of frozen dumplings she first cooked for Su Che.

In Bunker No. 3 of the Taklamakan Desert, Su Che didn't close his eyes for three days and nights; she stood guard outside and heated up the cold steamed buns five times.

And the bits and pieces of time spent together in the Beijing courtyard and on the B2 level of the Pangu Laboratory.

From Su Family Village to the capital, from the desert to lunar orbit.

The man she was going to marry was no longer the simple handyman who pushed a wheelbarrow to set up nets for children in the village.

"Let's go." Lin Waner took off her white coat and hung it on the back of the chair, her voice very soft.

Jiang Yingxue leaned against the equipment, hands in her pockets.

Her gaze moved away from Su Che's face and fell on the laboratory ceiling.

The private jet of the Pan-Pacific Group, the three-billion-dollar check, the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony.

The pledge of allegiance she submitted in the Taklamakan Desert, the B2 level of the Pangu Laboratory, the unquestionable tone Su Che used when he told her to go for further studies.

The person she wanted to buy off, the person she later had to rely on, the person she was now willing to follow.

Jiang Yingxue spoke, "Just how far have you gotten now?"

Su Che stood up and pushed the chair back to its original place. "In terms of the Dragon Kingdom, there is only... above me." He held up one finger.

Qin Lan and Gao Jian stood at the door, watching quietly.

Jiang Yingxue's hand pulled out of her pocket, clenched, and then relaxed.

"In terms of the entire Solar System, I have the final say. Looking at the Milky Way, I also have a seat."

The laboratory's cooling fan was still turning.

Lin Waner walked over and grabbed Su Che's sleeve, not speaking, just gripping it tightly.

"Let's go, Kaila is still waiting at the airport."

"Kaila?" Jiang Yingxue followed.

"You'll know when you get on the ship."

The next morning.

In the western suburbs of the capital, at an internal military guesthouse not open to the public.

The private room was not big, with one round table and twelve seats.

Su Che arrived first, standing by the window looking at the old locust tree in the courtyard.

General General Shen Wangchuan pushed the door open, followed by a line of people.

Qin Lan's father, Deputy Director Qin, his hair much whiter, looked at Su Che twice upon entering.

Instructor Han still had that posture that didn't look like he could sit down; over fifty years old, his back was straighter than a young man's.

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan strode in, hanging his hat on the coat rack as he entered.

Political Commissar Li, General Zhang, Captain Li Jun, one after another.

When Captain Li Jun entered and saw Su Che, the image of the old man in Su Family Village holding a greasy broom and the charred pit in the courtyard flashed through his mind.

"Sit." Su Che turned around and greeted everyone to take their seats.

The dishes were served quickly, home-cooked meals, nothing flashy.

Su Che picked up his teacup and scanned the room.

"Some haven't seen each other for a year. There's no other meaning today, just having a meal."

General Zhang picked up some food and chewed a couple of times.

"You kid, the last time we met was when I picked you up from Su Family Village to the capital."

"General, this time it's my turn to pick you up to the capital."

The table burst into laughter.

Halfway through the meal, the door of the private room was gently pushed open.

An old man in a dark Zhongshan suit walked in, followed by only one guard.

Everyone stood up.

The Elder waved his hand and walked to Su Che's side.

"Sit, everyone sit."

He pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at Su Che.

"Little Su, I've been watching everything you've done this past year!"

Su Che put down his chopsticks. "The Elder."

"The Tayake Civilization matter, the Kairos Civilization matter, that ship on the far side of the moon, I know it all."

The Elder reached out and patted the back of Su Che's hand.

"Without you, the human race might really be gone. This isn't just something I say; all of humanity owes you."

Su Che didn't respond to that; he leaned over and lowered his voice.

"The Elder, there is one thing I want to tell you. There is a medical pod on the mothership that can perform body anti-aging and life extension. When the operation team is proficient, you should find time to go up and do it."

The Elder's hand paused on the tabletop.

"Three hundred years to start with," Su Che added.

No one else in the private room made a sound.

The Elder nodded. "When I have time, I will definitely go up and see."

He didn't stay long; after saying a few words, he got up and left.

After the door closed.

General General Shen Wangchuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Alright, let's continue eating."

After the meal, Su Che said goodbye to everyone.

Su Che took Lin Waner, Jiang Yingxue, Qin Lan, and Gao Jian into the car.

The car drove towards the Xishan Military Airport.

"Su Che, where are we going?" Lin Waner looked at the tree shadows flying back outside the car window.

"Boarding the ship."

The Hongqi sedan drove into the special lane of the military airport and stopped at the edge of the tarmac.

The four of them got out of the car.

Lin Waner and Jiang Yingxue saw the silver-gray spaceship in the center of the tarmac at the same time.

Jiang Yingxue's footsteps slowed by half a beat.

She had seen too many expensive things: the Pan-Pacific Group's private jet, the Eagle Nation's B-21, the Dragon Kingdom's luan bird.

But this ship gave a feeling that was different from all those.

It was a kind of industrial aesthetic from a higher dimension that permeated from its very bones.

Qin Lan and Gao Jian looked at each other. Both had backgrounds in the Ministry of State Security and had seen many cutting-edge pieces of equipment, but this thing was beyond their cognitive range.

The hatch opened.

Kaila stood inside, her blue skin particularly striking in the sunlight.

Qin Lan's right hand subconsciously moved to her waist, but was pressed down by Gao Jian.

"This is Kaila, my personal assistant," Su Che said, walking in front to introduce her. "She is from the Kairos Civilization and has a translation chip implanted in her brain; she can speak Chinese directly."

Kaila bowed to the four people. "Hello, everyone."

Lin Waner stared at Kaila for three seconds, steadied her mind, and followed Su Che's pace.

Jiang Yingxue followed closely behind.

Qin Lan and Gao Jian walked at the end; Gao Jian's gaze swept over Kaila twice before finally looking away.

The shuttle took off.

Fifteen minutes later, in the shadow of the moon's far side, the outline of Genesis appeared outside the porthole.

The ten-plus-kilometer silver-gray hull, two or three thousand meters high, with faint energy glows flowing on the surface, looked like a sleeping giant whale against the pitch-black space background.

Lin Waner's hand gripped the armrest of the seat tightly.

Jiang Yingxue stood up and walked to the porthole, pressing both hands against the glass.

"Is... is this a ship?" Lin Waner's voice trembled slightly.

"This is home," Su Che said, leaning against the bulkhead. "You will live here from now on."

The shuttle passed through the docking channel on the side of Genesis and slowly drove into the hangar.

The hatch opened, and Su Che led the four people into the mothership.

The corridor was wide enough for two trucks to drive side by side.

The walls were seamless silver-gray alloy, the floor underfoot had a gentle elasticity, and the light source overhead was embedded in the wall, soft and uniform, without a single shadow.

Lin Waner looked around as she walked, almost bumping into the wall twice.

Jiang Yingxue's hand kept touching the wall, as if confirming whether it was real.

Qin Lan and Gao Jian walked at the end, their steps steady, but their eyes never stopped.

Su Che led them through the unlocked areas, from the molecular-level material synthesis system to the full-sensory game pod, from the gravity exercise zone to the biological synthesis kitchen.

Every time they passed an area, the four of them slowed down a bit more.

When they reached the high-level residential area, Jiang Yingxue finally spoke.

"Su Che."

"Hmm?"

"I previously thought that using a nuclear fusion power bank to cook dumplings was the most outrageous thing you could do."

She stood at the door of the suite, looking at the independent office area, life support facilities, classified communication interfaces, and guest space inside.

"I was wrong."

Su Che explained the room assignments.

Lin Waner would stay with him, and Jiang Yingxue would be next door.

Qin Lan and Gao Jian would have their own rooms.

"Qin Lan, Gao Jian, from today on, you are responsible for the mothership's security. There aren't many people now, so you don't need to patrol, but first get familiar with the layout of the unlocked areas. There will be thousands of people on the ship later, and security is your job."

"Understood." Both responded at the same time.

"Waner, logistics is your responsibility. There are one hundred logistics personnel on the ship now, including cooks, cleaners, and maintenance staff. You sort them out first."

Lin Waner agreed.

"Yingxue, you will handle the docking with Earth. All material allocation, personnel movement, and information communication with Earth will be handled by you."

Jiang Yingxue didn't speak, just nodded, turned around, and walked into her room.

Before the door closed, she looked back at Su Che, the corners of her mouth curling up.

It was late at night.

The corridor in the high-level residential area quieted down, with only the low-frequency hum of the light sources inside the walls.

Su Che lay on the bed, Lin Waner curled up in his arms, breathing evenly, sleeping very soundly.

He was not asleep.

He had been running around Earth with Kaila for the past two days.

Kaila followed him almost the entire time and saw everything.

He was impersonating an envoy of a Level 4 Civilization, and there were too many flaws along the way.

The further this lie went, the harder it was to cover up.

Kaila hadn't asked, but not asking didn't mean she hadn't thought about it.

A scientist from the Kairos Level 3 Civilization couldn't possibly be unintelligent.

He had to win her over completely before she became suspicious.

Su Che opened his eyes and looked at the time.

One forty in the morning.

He gently moved Lin Waner's hand from his chest, lifted the quilt, put on slippers, and went out.

At the end of the corridor, the door to Kaila's room was closed, with a faint light seeping out from under the door.

Su Che raised his hand and knocked three times.

The door slid open.